


we are our own sanctuary

by mysteryfucker420



Category: The Lobby
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, How Do I Tag, Light Angst, Other, i rewrote klyntar culture and society because it didn't make sense, it's just like, like not that much angst, none of the other characters are mentioned, vague sads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 15:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21200165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteryfucker420/pseuds/mysteryfucker420
Summary: Nine has a non-binary alien symbiote and they have a conversation. It's cute. They're gay. That's it.(Title taken from All I Want by Walk The Moon bc it's such a Nine song ngl.)





	we are our own sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> This is just self-indulgence. I like my symbiote OC and she deserves love. Appreciate her.  
Anyway, this happens before they become superheroes in this AU, but they still eventually become superheroes and team up with the rest of the lobby.  
Disclaimer: Storm doesn't actually have a gender, Nine was just like "hey so what's your gender" "gender?" "yeah like are you a he, a she, or a they, or something else" "uhhh... she???" but Storm has no clue what gender or pronouns are so idk just take this ok.

“What about culture?”

Nine reclined onto his bed, hands behind his neck. His boots were kicked off to the side, and the sheets were messy - just as he’d left them when he got up that morning. Still, it was comfortable. He wasn’t wearing anything special - a wrinkled hoodie, and grey pajama pants. No more, and no less.

**“Culture?”** Came the reverberating voice in his own head. Storm’s constant presence was something very strange to get used to, but the two of them were naturally quick learners. They’d achieved a comfortable symbiosis much quicker than most klyntar and their hosts. It was impressive progress, and the two of them were appropriately proud.

“Yeah, like, y’know,” He waved his hands vaguely. “Culture. Social shit. Historical connotations.” No reply from Storm. His eyebrows crumpled as he mentally projected a few select images. Handshakes, swear words, Christmas, agriculture. In response, the concepts of ‘understanding’ and ‘interest’ flashed back into his own mind.

**“We have not experienced it ourselves, but we have met other species with similar concepts. It is an interesting phenomenon.”** Nine felt Storm move throughout the inside of his left arm, flooding his nerves and veins. Before long, she came out from his wrist, switching from an amorphous blue-grey ink blot to the vague shape of a clawed hand, wrapped around his own. He lifted his arm - their arm - to his mouth, and kissed her softly. _‘It's a sign of affection,’_ he recalled when he first told her about the logistics of hand-holding, _‘Something you do when you’re emotionally close to someone. Physical affection is pretty big for humans.’_ Storm wrapped around his heart affectionately as the memory struck the both of them.

**“Well,”** she started after a shared moment of silence. **“There is one thing.”** Nine raised an eyebrow towards the ceiling.

“Oh?”

**“It is not mythology, like how it is with your species. It is a story, a rumour.”** Her hand retreated back into his body as she spread herself throughout, getting comfortable. **“Our planet was created artificially, designed specifically to host us until we sought out hosts for ourselves.”** This much wasn’t news to Nine. He’d heard the story a few times before, but it was still interesting to hear. The variation between symbiotes was especially interesting. How the child of a single symbiote could turn out nothing like it’s parent, in personality, appearance, and ability. Genetics was far from his strong suit, but he knew that it wasn’t like that for any organism widely known to humans so far.

**“Our planet supposedly used to have several moons, each one holding an observation deck to keep an eye on us, make sure that we didn’t grow too strong. All of them were used to quietly watch from the shadows of space... except one.”** He sat up, connecting his elbows to his knees, and resting his chin on his hands.

“What was it? A sort of weapon or something?”

**“Yes, as the rumour has it.”** A few molecules of dopamine fired from his brain at the correct guess, which Storm instantly caught and devoured. He chuckled briefly at the normalised absurdity of the situation. **“It was a weapon. Created to destroy us all in the worst case scenario.”** She projected the images of ‘poison’, ‘absence’, and ‘object’ into Nine’s mind. It wasn’t something that translated easily, but he understood what she meant. A physical object, a weapon, but not a gun or a laser. Something designed to bring harm to symbiotes, and only symbiotes. To tear them apart molecule by molecule, quickly, painlessly, and fatally.

Nine recoiled at the idea. It seemed so… brutal. Although it had only been a little over a week since he and Storm first met, he couldn’t imagine her just disappearing like that. Gone.

_‘Not gone,’_ came a soft thought, directed straight at him. _‘Here.’_ She rippled faintly over the top of his arm as a physical reminder of her presence.

**“Once the first of us escaped our planet and discovered what was on the moons, we destroyed them. One by one, they became naught but dust as they were consumed entirely. But there was one that remained.”**

“The moon with the weapon.”

**“Yes. They called it...”** Nine felt Storm reaching around in her own memory for a moment. **“...Sanctuary.”**

“The moon or the weapon?”

**“It is unclear. Both, most likely.”**

Nine’s brows furrowed at that. It was such a nice word. ‘Sanctuary’ was what he felt with Storm. It was when he felt at home, curled up on his bed. When he stood on the roof of his apartment building, feeling the cold midnight air against his skin. It felt wrong to give that name to something that would bring harm to living things. Bring harm to his symbiote.

**“Yours,”** She repeated, moving through his body once again. He placed a hand over his stomach in agreement. _**“Ours.”**_ She flooded herself into his heart, replacing the muscle for a good few seconds. An abstract message, but a simple one - they belonged to each other now. His body was no longer just his body. It was Storm’s as well. But in the same sense, Storm’s amorphous “body” was also his. A venn diagram of selfhood.

“What happened to the weapon?” Storm slid out of his heart, letting his brain take full control of his body once again.

**“We assume it remains. We have only seen our planet briefly, but the moon is still there.”**

The two of them were quiet for a moment, feeling each others presence and moving in perfect synchronicity. Nine was the first to break the silence, speaking softly into the still room.

“I don’t like the name...”

**“Oh?”**

“Yeah.” He laid himself back down onto his bed, and rolled onto his stomach. His feet kicked the air absently as he continued. “A sanctuary should be somewhere safe. A sanctuary is supposed to be home. Comfort. Kindness. Homemade cookies and soft blankets. It’s not supposed to be…” ‘Murder’ hung in the air, unspoken. Swallowed back at the last second, as if saying it aloud made it real. The two of them were quiet again, lost in individual thought. Sounds from the outside made their way subtly in. The ticking of a clock. The hissing of a cat outside. The hurried bustle that came with the city life. It took them a minute before Storm manifested out of his back, swimming through the air into his field of vision.

**“You are our sanctuary.”** Nine blinked slowly. The meaning of the words was not lost on him. He was Storm’s home. Her comfort. Her sanctuary. As much as the sentiment was returned, he shook his head, lifting a hand to cover her mouth.

“We can be our own sanctuary.” It didn’t make complete sense, but that was easily fixed. His hand dropped from her mouth, being quickly replaced by his lips. The moment he pulled back, he closed his eyes with a smile, projecting some images towards Storm. _‘Together’, ‘home’, ‘warm’, ‘together’, ‘healthy’, ‘safe’, ‘rest’, ‘together’, ‘calm’, ‘together’, ‘together’._

A single thought was returned.

_‘Together’._


End file.
